My Completely Irrelevant Top 25 and Heisman Race

Heisman Race
–I’m just going to include a link to the players stats from now on for space purposes. The top three players this week reflect the most consistent performers in the country, while Pryor and Robinson are on the verge of falling out.

Oy. The back end of the Top 25 has been a pain to organize all year. It’s a crapshoot after Arkansas. I’m not really keen on ranking Hawaii or UCF, but I certainly wasn’t going to keep Florida State or Miami ranked like some have. The ACC is a conference of bad teams, decent teams playing bad football and one good team. I shuffled back and forth between UCF and N.C. State for the #25 spot. It’s interchangeable if you ask me. N.C. State beat UCF and UCF really doesn’t have a good win to speak of, but I’m looking beyond who they have played. I think they are a solid football team. I also considered San Diego State for the last spot as well.

What about 6-2 Syracuse? They have two bad losses to Washington and Pittsburgh and three of their six wins are against Akron, Colgate and Maine. I will give them props for winning on the road against South Florida, West Virginia and Cincinnati, but there is no way I will rank them before Pittsburgh.

Auburn at #4? There’s no question about what Auburn has proven on the field to this point. I’m not saying they will stay at #4 if they win out, but for now they do. Auburn has a great offense combined with one of the worst defenses in the Top 25, although it has not mattered yet. Oregon’s defense may not be much better, but they are ranked 20 slots higher in total defense and they have a turnover margin of +13.

Why is Virginia Tech so high? Look, they lost to a tough opponent in Boise State by three points to start the year. The loss to James Madison was a fluke. It still happened, but it’s hard to overlook for some. Look past the beginning of the year. They are playing with more confidence now and we all know they were a talented bunch coming into the year.

Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comment box below. You can e-mail me suggestions or questions at jtmcadams@aol.com. Follow me on Twitter @JoeSportswriter.